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Bike corral installed in Tallahassee's downtown

TaMaryn Waters, Tallahassee Democrat 4:23 p.m. EDT September 3, 2014

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A new bike corral has been installed in downtown Tallahassee on the northeast corner of College Avenue and South Adams Street in an effort to encourage more biking and give cyclists a safer place to park their bikes.
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You may have noticed a new black iron bike corral on the northeast corner of South Adams Street and College Avenue.

Bikers will likely love it, although the downtown amenity hasn't stopped some cyclists from chaining bikes to sign poles just yet. Some businesses wanted a bike rack since more residents are ditching cars for two-wheeled transportation.

For residents doing business downtown or grabbing a bite, the 12-bike corral is a sign Tallahassee is taking baby steps toward becoming more bike friendly. City crews finished installation on Tuesday.

High Point Property Manager Barbara Zeire was the first to push for bike racks, staffers say. Last year, she flagged public work crews working on sidewalk improvements and asked if a bike rack could be installed. She then reached out to former Downtown Improvement Authority executive director Allen Thompson, who put a fire under the effort.

Zeire is pleased by the final product. Atomic Coffee, located in the High Point building on College Avenue, caters to customers and workers who bike there. Too often she'd see them chaining bikes to poles and parking meters outside the business.

Now they have a safer option.

"In order to become a true bike friendly city," Zeire said, "you need to have a safe convenient place for them to lock up their bike."

She said it'll likely take a couple of weeks for news to catch on. The city and DIA have promoted the corral through email blasts, social media and word of mouth.

Initially a partial space near Jasmine Cafe on College Avenue was considered. Planners later learned the location would have drainage issues and collect debris and leaves, said Megan Doherty, a transportation planner in the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department.

The bike corral is the first installation in the city's Bike Rack Program, approved by the City Commission in March. Doherty said 100 bike racks, which hold fewer bikes compared to corrals, have been ordered and planners are scouting appropriate locations for more bike corrals.

The downtown corral installation cost an estimated $8,000, including $4,800 for the corral funded by the Downtown Improvement Authority, and the remaining balance went to street and sign improvements funded by the city.

Doherty said the city timed installation to be complete by this weekend's Downtown GetDown, a community block party before home Florida State football games.

"That's a big event for Tallahassee," Doherty said. "It draws not only a lot of residents but visitors and it's a great event to showcase how Tallahassee is trying to improve bike parking in our downtown area."